Tile-placing attachment for ditching machines



J. SOMMER NG ATTACHMENT FOR DITC'HING MACIfuNEs Sept. 21 1926.

TILE PLACI Filed sept. so, 1922 4 shets-shee't 1- INVENTOR.

Sept. 21 1926.

J, SOMMER NG ATTACHMENT FOR DITCHING MACHINES TILE PLAC 4 Sheet-s-She'et2 Filed Sept. 30, 1922 m. m m m Sept. 2l 192:a 1,600,701 J. SOMMER TILEFLACING ATTACHMENT FOR DITCHING MACHINES i Filed Sept. 50,` 1922 4Sheets-Sheet 5 f INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 211, 1926.

- I naar JOHN SOMMER, or* encara, ILLINOIS.

TiLE-r'LAciNe ATTACHMENT ron niTcHiue MACHINES,...

App-naman sied september a0, 1922; serial No. 591,569.`

vfacilitate the laying of the tile in any soft ground which is subjectto cave-in, and also in ground containing quiclrsand; whereby,

' the tile may be pushed into and held in place and a contiguous jointmade with the next adjoining tile, and so held, even in the event ofcave-in. 1 Y

The invention has for a further object a tile placing means controlledand actuated by pneumatic pressure means, thefluid lpressure for whichisv supplied by a suitable pump arranged to be operated-from the motormechanism of the excavating machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elevating means,associated with the tile placing means, which is adapted to| remove fromthe tile placing attachment, water and slush draining into saidattachment, whereby a' comparatively dry place may be maintained fortheoperator, and filling in prevented, until after the tile sections havebeen properly covered. y

rhat the invention may be Vmorefullyunderstood, reference is had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this description, showing apreferred embodiment of the invention, in which z# Fig. 1 is a sideelevation, partly in section,

showing my improved attachment and-tile and its application toa wheelplacing means, Y

the pumpl and fluid type excavator, omitting supply means; y

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, except thatV the tile placing `meanshas been retracted and the section exposes one legof the elevating means.for removing water and slush from thev attachment;

Fig. 3 'is a vertical sectional view','part1y in elevation, Aas the samewould appear, if

" taken on vthe line 3-3 Fig. -1

Fig. 4 is a plan view,fpartly inrsection, as the 4same would appear,ift-aken on the line lL-#4F ig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail in elevation, partly in section, as the same wouldappear, if taken on the line 5-5 Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the excavator, showingv the frame workandthe fluid supply and pressure system for the pneumatic control andoperation of the tile placing means. f

Like characters of reference ldenote corresponding, parts thruout thefigures.v

Ditching or excavating lmachines of the wheeled type are well known tothose skilledV in the art, and I therefore have only shown so much ofsuch a. 'machine as will be necessary to illustrate the' connection of'my tile laying attachment thereto. VThe. digging" wheelof such machinesis designated by the dotted lines 1 provided with' thev annular toothedrims 2v engagedV by Vdriving gear wheels 3, carried on a shaft 1,operated in any suit-able manner from themotive power carried by themachine, These. machines have arsupporting framework, which in this Yinstance' is designated by the beams 5` (5 and 7, and it is to thesebeams tha-tiny tile'laying attachment,to be described, issuitably'connected.

' Ordinarily the ditches dugby the ditching Y or excavating machines, inwhich the drain tile is laid, is in ground where the danger of a cave-ino f the side walls Vof lthe ditch is not to `be seriously considered,Aand .the tile" may be laid by the lw'orlnnenwith little orno difficultyand without the need of such an attachment asherein shown and described.However, ground is oftenV encountered in which the ditches are dug whichis veryV muddy, ,or which Vcontains consider-able quicksand. Ineitherevent the laying of the tile rduring the digging of theditches orthereafter, is done with considerabledifli-'i culty, by reason of thefact, thatcave-ins willv occur beto-re the tile sections can be'properlyvr 'laid and placed in juxtaposition to each` other, and'lincidents are on record, 'Wliere, during the laying of the tilesections jinsuch ground, cave-inshave occurred, and the',` pressure hasvbeen, sol greatupon the tile sections that they were separated:axially, the ground? forcing the l.tile sections apart and entering' p av f los icc'

therebetween, destroying communication be- .tween the said tilesections. My attachment aims to overcome the possibility of the caveinof the walls ofthe ditches during the placing of the tile sections, andmaires it possible to so place the said sections in jui:- taposition toeach other thatthey are retained in place and cave-ins will have nomaterial elfect thereon to separate the saine. Further, when `ground isencountered containing quiclrsand, my attachment provides for theintroduction gravel into the dit-ch on which the tile sections may bellaid and forcoveringand surrounding said tile sec.- tions with ojravelto protect the same against ,caving in of the walls of the ditch.

The attachment includes a housingl made up ofthe opposite side walls 3,connected by the curved bottom Awall 9, the Vfront curved wall andtherear vertical Awall 10a, the latter stopping short at the bottoni ofthe housing as at 11 to provide an opening in the rear end of thehousing,` as shown at the bottoni in Figs. 1 and 2, thru which yarepushed the tile sections A, as will be more fully explained. The forwardends fof the side walls 3 and the front wall 10 are arranged vtohave asuitable detachable 1 connection with the beams 7 forn'iinga part ofVthe frame work of the machine, whereby the'housingvis drawn by themachine and thru the ditch cut by the ditching wheel 1.

In other words, the housing trails the ditchi ing` Ywheel with thecurvedbottom 9 of the housing, preferably moving on the bottoni of the ditchand conforming to the croes section thereof, see Figs. 3 and "lhe saidhousing, as will be `observed looking at the cross-sectional views 3Vand 5 constitutes a movable curbing' to retain the walls of the ditchduring the placing` of the tile, the tile placing means being operablycarried within Ythe housing, as Vwill be explained.

rlfhe tile placing` or .pushing` means, coni* vprises preferably acarriage 12 mounted on rollers 13 adapted .to'travel on rails. 14.-

the curved bottoni 9 of thehousing,

secured to andi extendii'ig longitudinally of carriage havingl attachedthereto a head plate 15 acting,v as the placer or pusher for the tilesections, in i' a n'ianner to be described. PivotallyVconnected,.oentrally to Y and at the forward end of the carriage 12,

"and preferably immediately. inv the rear of the plate 15, is a curvedbar orfrod 18, which at its forward end is pivotally connected to aslightly curved link 1'?, and said lini at its forward end is pivotallyconnected to the. lower endof a piston? rod.18,connected Vto a piston(not shown) reciprocally can, lried in the cylinderV 19. l preferablypro-Y vide anti-friction rollersQOfand 21, respecjitively, the pointsofconnection fthe fbarorrod 16 with tl'ierhnir 1.7, and ofthe linki 17with the piston'xrod- 13, andlsaid said `pivoted to the main y "at 3f(to permit the waeel and the tile placrollers travel between spacedguides 22 and 23 arranged within a housing 24 disposed within thehousing attachment and preferably at or near the forward end thereof, anupstanding transverse partition 25 in the main housing' constituting apart of the front wall of the housing 2li, so that the operative partsof the tile placing` and holding means are confined within the housingand within the walls 8, 9, 10a and 25 ooijisjtitutinp` -tlie mainhousing, see Fig. 1. rilhe ma ii portion of the housing 24 is arrangedin a preferably upstanding` position and has a lower curved end openinginto the main housing' of the attachment. This is true also of theguides 22 andV 23 which are coni'ined within the housing 24e, andtherespective guides and 23 separated to allow for the up a.d down andangular movement of the bar or rod 16 and the link 1'? As shown, thecarriage 12 and placer oi' pusher 15 thereon are adapted to havehorizontal movement only, and this move-Y sition in the machine.Therefore, the housing and guides 22 and 23 are so constructed, and thebar or rod 16 and link 17 designed, that the verticalV .reciprocalmovement'imparted to thepiston-rod 18 is transformed into a horizontalmovement.

To the upper end of the cylinder 19 is connected a pipe 26 and to thelower-end of said cylinder isY connectedV a pipe 27, both of whichconnect with a 'preferably four way valve coupling 23, provided with avalve handle To said Vvalve coupling is also connected a pipe 31. .InFig. 6 the pipe 30 connectsdirect with a lpressure tanl 32 and pipe 33connects the pressure tanl with a suitable pump 34:. rThis pump in turnis connected by a pipe 35 with a supply or reservoir tank 3o to whichthe pipe 3l, isy connected.

l prefer to inount the entireliuid pres-r sure system and its operativeparts on the tures thereof, as this frame carries the eX- eavatii wheeland its operating parts and' Sii vi ou Yin)V also the tile placing`attachment and its.

pai

ing attachii'ient to be raised and lowered. vit i locate a shaftcarrying a large bevelV gear wheel 38 with which'meshes thediainetrically opposed driving` and Vdriven bevel. gear .pinions 39 andL10,' the former carried on a driving` shaft leading tothe engine,not-shown, vor other motive means Vofthe excavator, and the latterYcarried on, Y

- suitably journaled on the frainea shaft work described. The: shaftLtliru suitable rlhe entire iranieworleis usuallyl .no of the escavatorY iso connecting gearing 42 actuatesV a shaft 43 thru .suitableconnecting gearing 44 operates the pump 34, see Fig. 6.

The operation of placing a tile by 4the means described, is as follows:-It.is understood of course that the excavator is moved forward asuit-able distance, the wheel l cutting a ditch and the dirt removed toone side thereof.` When the machine has progressed a sufficientdistance, a signal is given the operator and the machine is stopped, thetile placing ,andv holding means being approximately inthe positionshown in Fig. 2. A tile Als handed the attendant within vthe mainhousing who lowers it intol position on the bottom 9 between the railsi4. This done, the valve handle v29 is manipulated tof` permit iiuid toflow into the upper end of the cylinder to operate the V'piston rod18link 17. bar or rod 16 and the carriage l2 moving the plate' l5 intoengagement with the tile A moving it into position and in juxtapositionto a preceding tile section, if one has been placed, and holding thetile section in suoli position.V This position of the parts may bemaintained whether the machine isthen moved forward orV not; it beingintended of course to hold the tile after the signal has been given toadvance the machine, so as to insure that' there shall be no separationof the tile sections. rilhe attendant has full control of the pneumaticpressure means for operating the tile placing means, thruthe handle 29and may reverse the movement of the fluid at will' to operate andretract'such placing means.`

The tile as placed are moved out thru the opening ll, at the rear of thehousing, it

Y being Vunderstood that the Vtile placing mechanism is ynot onlydesigned to 1engage and movetlie tile sections into position, one

against the other, to provide a complete and perfect drain, but thatsuch mechanism also serves to hold the tile sections, one against theother to prevent loose joints, and that such holding operation continuesduring the stoppage Vof the machine and during the` forward movement ofthe machine following each placing operation; thereby obviat-l ing anyand all danger of the tiles separating.

The attachment, as now described, is useful when the machine isoperatinoin muddy ground void of quiclrsand conditions, but which issubject to cave-in, the side walls 8 of the housing acting as a curbingto retain `Jthe side walls of the ditch and permit the placing of theltile' sections Aon the bottom of the ditch, the said tile sections beingpushed out thru the opening in the rea-r end vof the said housing, aswill be under'- stood. Y l Y 'y Y To provide for the laying of the tilesections in'ditches where quicl'rsand is encountered,l preferably employa chute 45 formed with a hopper 46 at its upper end and with asemicirculairearwardly extendingshield 47 at its lower end. This chuteyis-preferably arranged forV detachable connectionwitliH and protrudingthru the opening in the rear,V

end of the housing, part ofthe tile within the housing vand partwit-hout, but protectedy byV theshield 47 of the chute. Vllere it willbe seen that the gravel has formed .a bed for the said section of tile,and covers all of that portion` protruding without the housing and hasspread within the housing almost to the forward end of the tile section.yit this `point anew tile section is 'placed so as to. be moved injuxtaposition to ythe tile section lying part Within andpart without thelhousing, and when the new section has been soV placed the forwardn'iovement of the machine will allow the gravel discharged from thechute to spread over and around the newly Vplaced tilesection in themanner shown in connection with' thc last Vplaced tilesection` in Fig.2. it is to be understood that the placing ofy the said tile sectionswhennsiiig the chutef45 is so timed that a bedof gravel is provided forthe said sections, -as shown in Fig. 2, so as the machine movesforwardly there can be no tipping of thesaid tilesections which woulddislodge .the same and prevent axial alignment of the Anent andsucceeding tile sections. y Y

I have provided'for the removal of water and slush from the inainhousingof the at-A y tachmeiit, which may enter thehousing thru or around thetile, due to'any causes whatice y soever.r There areV conditions ofsoil,'where if no provision is made for the removal of 110 any suchwater and slush, sooner or'later` the housing would lill to auth avpoint that placing and laying of the tile would be prevented, andconditions wouldbe such that anV attendant. or operator could not stayin the housing of theattachment. Such a means,

preferably comprises a bucketelevator, in-Y cluding an'endless conveyingcha-in 48 hav-k ing connected thereto, vat intervals, buclrets` or cups49..' VSaid chain is driven by :i sprocket wheel 50 on a shaft 5l andalso passesaround an idler sprocket wheel `52 on a shaft 53. Thiselevatori-ispreferably enclosed within the housing24 discharging`therefrom at the upper endthereof thru a" discharge spout 54, and saidelevator. s'tiadlV dles the guides 22 and 23 inainanner seen in Fig. 4,the housing 24 being open 'at its lower end, as at 55, see Figsn lV and9, toper;`

mit-the ingress of water and slush'thereinto 5130...;

yzo

; ly described, to be operated therefrom.

What l claim is l. In combination with ditch digging means,y means torplacing tile sections in abutting relation in ther ditch, power meanstor operating theV placing means and for holding the sections in theirsaid abutting relation, and means for controlling` the operation of thepower means thereby to govern the pressure exerted by the tile placingmeans on the sections.-

2. Inv combination with ditch digging` means, means tor placing tilesections abutting relation in the ditch, power Vmeans tor operating theplacing` means and a manual control tor the power means where by toregulably govern the pressure exerted by the tile placing means on thesections.

' 3. In combination with ditch ,digging means, a housing lhaving aclosed front end and an opening adjacent the bottomV ot its rear, tileplacing means operable through the opening, vertically disposed guidingmeans adjacent the front end otthe hor-.singA and having a rearwardlycurved lower end,

Vmeansmovable in the guiding means and in the curved end thereot andconnected to the placing means to actuatethe latter, andY means movablein the guiding means and in the curved vend thereot' and'coniiected tothe placing means to actuate the latter,l meansV connected to the upperpart of the actuating means to operate same, and an endless water andslush elevator having its vertical flights disposed on opposite sidesogt the .vertical guiding mea-ns and having Aits lower Apart operating`beneath the curved lower end of the guiding means. v

In combination with ditch digging means, means for placing tile sectionsiii abutting relation inthe ditch, vertically disposed means oroperating the placing means, `and a verticalk endless ywater `and Aslushelevator having its flights arranged on opposite sidesot the. operatingmeans. v

' 6. YIn combination with Vditch digging.;

means, vertical guiding Vmeans having a lower curved part, tile placingmeans eX- vertically disposed guiding.

Vthe lower me Y' tending in horizontal alinement with the` lower end ofthe curved part, lvertically Vdisposed operating means for the placingmeans, and means connected to the operating means, and tol the tileplacing 'means and engaged with the guiding means for' actuating theplacing means.

7. ln a machine Vof the character described, in combination, means fordigging a ditch, al housing connected to trail the Vdigging means withinthe ditch, means' operating through the housing for placing tilesections in abutting positions in saidditch andrt'or holding the saidsections in such position as they are placed, and an elevating meansiler removing water and slush tromsaid housing.

8. ln a machine of the character described, in combination, means tordigging a ditch, 'housing connected to trail said digging means withinthe ditch, horizontally disposed tile placing means in the bottom lotsaid housing adapted for reciprocal movement, vertically disposedmeansarranged for reciprocatioiiwithin said housing for operating saidplacing means, flexible connections between said operating means andsaid tile placing means, and a vertically disposed elevating meansstraddling saidoperating means adapted to remove water and slush fromsaid housing.

9. An attachment for a ditchv digging machine, comprising ahousinghaving an opening at its rear end 'or the ejection'ot tile sections,means within the housing for placing 'tile sections in abuttingpositions vand pushing the same out thru the opening in said housing,means within the housing tor operating saidV placing means, and anelevator arranged within the housingin front 01' said placing means forremoving water and slush therefrom. v

l0. in attachment tor a ditch digging machine, comprising amain housinghavingaan opening at one end for the ejection ot tile sections,horizontally arranged tile placingrmeans disposed tor reciprocation onthe bottom of the housing and provided' with tile engaging means, asupplementalhousing arranged ina vertical positionrin said housing andhaving a Vcurved lower portion vopening thereinto, a cylinder arrangedwith- .in said supplemental housing, fluid pressure connect-ions withsaid cylinder, a piston rod reciprocallyarranged in said cylinder, and,ilegible connections between said piston rod and said tile i'ilacingAmeans, and guided by portion of the supplemental hous` Jona sonnen

